They are currently looking for
people who have chronic low back pain and who would like to receive the support
of a trained peer support volunteer over a three-month period to help test the
new intervention.

To be eligible for the study people
need to be 65 or over, living in Aberdeen City or Aberdeenshire and have
chronic low back pain for which they are not currently receiving any formal
treatment or investigations.

Dr Cooper said: “Low back pain
affects around a third of over 65’s with many reporting chronic symptoms
lasting for 12 weeks or longer.

“Treatment such as physiotherapy is
widely available and can be very effective, but due to the nature of low back
pain many people need to develop a long-term self-management strategy.

“This can include things like exercises,
being physically active, relaxation techniques and having a plan to cope with
setbacks.

“Through our research we hope the
intervention might prove to be a useful strategy for some over 65’s who want a bit
of support to be able to successfully self-manage their chronic low back pain.”

The research, funded by The Dunhill Medical Trust, started in October 2013 with patients, health professionals,
members of the public and other experts on self-management being interviewed
about what it’s like to have chronic low back pain and what people can do to
help themselves.

This information, along with evidence
from published research, has been used to design the intervention and a
training programme for peer volunteers.

The intervention is ideal for
people who have recently been discharged from physiotherapy, as it is designed
to be a stepping-stone between formal treatment and successful self-management.

Taking part in the research would
involve being matched up with a peer support volunteer and receiving their
support via six meetings or phone conversations over a three-month period.

The researcher would collect a
range of measures during this period to find out whether the intervention is
appropriate and feasible to deliver and receive, as well as how effective
people think it is in helping them to self-manage their back pain.

If you are aged 65 or over, have
chronic low back pain and would be interested in testing the intervention,
please contact Dr Kay Cooper on (01224) 262677 or e-mail: k.cooper@rgu.ac.uk